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Thursday, November 8, 2012

A day at the farm..

Good friends are hard to come by these days..I met Farmer Wong eight years ago.We were introduced by Steven Leong, a bio-technologist who had worked and lived in Japan for some years.His company, Shimamoto agriculture, is one of the leading bio-technology ventures in Japan.Leong taught Wong on ways to manage a sustainable farm.The formation years were tough.Wong had worked his ass off for two years before he got the formulation right for his compost fertilizers.His hardwork paid off after the Pahang agricultural department had awarded him the state's first Good Agricultural Practise certification.In short, Wong's produce is able to reach any market - especially those who are concerned about pesticide abuse.Although not entirely organic, Wong's vegetables are treated with the mildest insecticide.We've became good friends with a lot of common interest.One of them was firearms and knives.Recently, Wong had surrendered his .22 Ruger rifle to the police.He took ownership of a .243 Winchester Browning BAR rifle.I had a chance to try it out and after firing a few rounds, I was impressed with the performance of the gun..

A worker and her dogs

These pooches provide added security to the farm

With the new firearm, Farmer Wong can keep his property safe.Next up, is probably a pistol.Sin Poh produces a yield of four to six tonnes of vegetable a day.Their market covers Bentong, Raub, Kuala Lipis and Gua Musang.The rainy season it seems, is actually boosting sales of leafy vegetables with prices soaring high as demands had tripled.Wong is happy with the fact that his crop yield is steady.

A beautiful piece: The Browning BAR rifle

Ah Pan's pet projectWong's Man-Friday Ah Pan, who is also an old friend of mine, had lived at Sin Poh farm for eight years.He takes care of Wong's two daughters and only son Wong Wei.Recently, Ah Pan had embarked on an aquaculture project.He is now rearing Tilapias and Grass Carp for sale.After four months, the fishes are growing on a steady pace..

Feeding time: Ah Pan at work

When the harvest is ready, there is at least a huge revenue for the income generated from the fishing ponds.On a hindsight, Ah Pan told me that his nephew, Sherman, who is also a friend of mine, is planning to acquire a plot of land next to Farmer Wong's.I hope this venture will work as eventually, he will set up a homestay near Sin Poh..